Car-door lock.



J. A. MILNER.

CAR DOOR LOCK. APPLICATION FILED MAR. a. 1911.

LMQJGQ. Patented Dec. 4,1917.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1- I. A. MILNER. CAR D008 LOCK. APPLICATION min-MAR. a. law.

Patenmd Dec 4, 1917.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2- ears fra rninr orator Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented nee. a, ram.

Application filed March 8-, 1917. .Seria1-No..153,302.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that 1, JOHN A. MILNER, a citizen of the United States, residing at White Bear Lake, in the county of Ramsey and State of Minnesota, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Car-Door Locks, of which the following is a specification;

M This invention relates to that class ofcar door locks, which is particularly adapted for use in locking freight car doors against intrusion by unauthorized persons. Thepih lage of freight cars has become a serious loss to railroads due to the means now employed being inefiective, and it is the primary object of this invention to overcome this objection in a simple, inexpensive and eflicient manner.

H VVi-th this and other objects in view my invention comprises the features of construction and combination of parts herein-- after particularly described and set forth in the claims. a

In the accompanying drawing forming part of this specification, Figure 1 is a side elevation of a detail of a freight car looking at one of the inner side walls and door showing my improved lock applied thereto; Fig.

' 2 isanother view similar to that illustratedin Fig. 1 illustrating the position of the parts of my improved lock when the parts i assume fully locked position; Fig. 3 is. an enlarged sectional View of a detail taken on the line X-X of Fig. 1; Fig. 4 IlS fE1Ilother section of a detail taken on the line YY of Fig. 1; and Fig.5 is a side elevation of a train ofcars illustrating the air line system-of usual construction with which.

my invention cooperates.

In the drawing let A indicate a detail 0 a freight car of usual type, my invention being adapted for use on any character of car desired with sliding or swinging door or doors. B indicates one of thedoors of the car which as illustrated is of sliding type and adapted to close the usualdoorway 2 in one of the sides 3. This door is adapted to be locked in closed position by means of a catch or latch 4 carried by the door on the inside of the car and a lock bolt ,5 which is carried by the door jamb or frame of the doorway, also on the inside of the car. The catch 1 is in the form of a pawl, the body of which is pivotally mounted by means of the pin 6 on the fixture 7 5 which is secured to. the inner face of the decrements edge tpqr ib )8 by m ans belts .9 othe suit able fastening means- The outer extremity of said pawl is formedwith a shoulder 10 and a guiding inclined face 11 on its outer end. The lock bolt or keeper 5 is held in a keeper fixture 12, which is secured by bolts 13 or other suitable fastening means to the inner face of the door frame or wall of the car and is formed with superimposed keeper arms 14 having boltreceiving openings 15 through which the lock bolt 5 is passed downwardly. The look bolt is formed with 7 an upper shoulder 16 and eye piece 17, said shoulder being adapted to rest on the upper keeper member 14; to prevent the bolt from dropping through the openings in the keeper. A short chain 18 secured to the wall of the car and to the eye piece 17 serves to prevent the lockbolt from being lost. when it is lifted :out "of the keeper. A leaf spring 19 iscarried by the keeper and is so situated as to press and maintain the pawl 4 with its shoulder 10 engaged with the lock bolt 5 when the door B reaches fully closed posiadapted for usewhen a carhas been loaded and is standing upon the tracks ready to be coupled .to a train for a journey, and once it has been closed andlo'cked, it is impossible to open the same until -the lock bolt 5 has been ejected from the keeper fixture.

, Arranged in connection with modern freightgcars is theusual air pressure line which is lnaintainediinder air pressure by an air pressure supply mechanism carried by the locomotive for operating brakes and actuatonE, which is preferably arranged immediately below the keeper 12. I actenor-11s in the torn of a cylinder 23 see cured to the side of the car and containing a plunger piston 24:, which carries a shaft 25 co-axially arranged in the cylinder and projecting through an opening 26 in its upper end, immediately below the lower end of the lock bolt 5. The air pressure supply duct 22 is connectedwith the lower end of the cylinder 23 immediately below the piston 24 and upon the admission of air under pressure by the pipe system, the piston is forced upwardly carrying with it the plunger shaft 25, which acts as an ejector to force the lock bolt upwardly out of the keeper and assume its position as a lock pin in the keeper behind the shoulder of the catch 4. 'lhuswhen the cars are coupled to the locomotive as illustrated in Fig. 5 and the train air line system maintained under pressure by the air pressure mechanism F on the locomotive, the pressure of air in the air line causes all of the actuators E in the cars of the train to eject the lock bolts such, as 5 out of their keepers, and simultaneously lock the doors B closed by the members 25 passing upwardly through the openings 15 in the keepers 12 and engage and hold the lock members 4 locked until pressure of air is released from the train line either by opening the air line or by shutting off the pressure of air in the locomotive purposely. Should any one of the ducts 22 in the cars be broken by an intruder, a signal such as a whistle 27 on the tank 21 will immediately indicate by sound the location of the car into whichan attempt is being made to enter. Assoon as the air pressure in the a1r line is released either purposely or otherwise, the piston 24 will return by gravity in the cylinder 23 to normal position in the lower end of the air cylinder 23, whereupon the ejector pin 25 will release the catch 4:

and leave the door 13 free to be opened from the outside. The spring 19 holds at all times the catch 4 in engagement either with the lock bolt 5 or the ejector shaft 25, whichever happens to hem position in the keeper, prosure system made for the escape of air, the

engineer in the cab of the locomotive or the conductor Will immediately know from the operation of the usual indicator in train line system that some trouble exists.

The a1r pressure tank 21 it will be understood represents what is. generally termed one of the auxiliary air chambers foropcrating brake mechanism, signal mechanism or any other part of the air operated mechanism of the car or train, and that the duct 22 may be connected to one of the air reservoirs or any part of the air line system desired. It will be further understood that the part indicated above as the signal whistle 27 may be inclosed in a protecting guard such as 29, to insure against malicious destruction of same.

In accordance with the patent statutes I have described the principles of operation of my invention, together with the apparatus which I now consider to represent the best embodiment thereof,but I desire to have it understood that the construction shown is onlyillustrative, and that the invention can be carried out by other means and applied to uses other than those above set forth within the scope of the following claims.

Havingdescribed'my invention, what I claim as new and desire to protectby Letters Patent is V 1. In combination with a doorway and a door therefor, a latch and removable keeper for locking said door closed and a pneumatically actuated keeper arranged to eject and assume the function of said removable keeper.

2. In combination with a car having a door and an .air line, a latch and keeper for locking said door closed and means operated by the pressure of airin said line for assuming the place of said keeper to maintain said latch locked and releasing said latch when the pressure of air in said line is reduced or released. r

8.7In combinationwitha car having a. door and an air line, means for locking said door closed having a keeper, and means operated by the force of air in saidline for assuming the place of said keeper to maintain said latch locked and removable to unlock is reduced or released. j

,4. In combination with a car having a door-Way and a, door'therefor, a latch and removable keeper for locking said door closed and a pneumatically actuated keeper arranged to eject and assume the" function of said removable keeper, said-parts being completely isolated from the exterior of the carp. L j 1 5; In combination with a, car'having a dcor,alock for said door accessible only from inside said carand'having'a keeper and a removable lock bolt arranged to mechani cally hold said door closed, an air pressure said latch when pressureof air in saidline line carried by said car, and means connected with said line leading into said, car having an. ejector shaft for forcing said bolt out of said keeper and maintaimng said lock in locked condition under the pressure of air from said line, said shaft automatically receding into unlocked position when air in said line is released.

6. In combination With a car having a door and an air pressure line, a lock in said released, and a signal carried by said car in said line adapted to remain dormant when air pressure is maintained in said line but to become active should air pressure be released. u In testimony whereof, I have signed my name to this specification.

JOHN A. MILNER.

car having a removable bolt for holding said door closed, a cylinder connected with said line, a piston carrying an ejector shaft for replacing said bolt in said lock and holding 5 said door closed under the pressure of air from said line and recedable into unlocked position when the air pressure of said line is five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Iatents,

Copies of this patent may be obtained for Washington, D. G. 

